So......Am I the only one

[Korgoth1]

How many of those will you need, if just covering your low power demands with it?

If they are the 10.4kwh version on the Volt, I would need atleast 5 of them(assuming drain to 50%)

 

[DieselAddict]

The base load on the house is about 600w. Ideally I would like a 400ah @ 48v battery system. A LiFePo4 can be discharged about 80% while still maintaining a reasonable cycle life. That would give about 320ah (15kwh) usable energy over approximately 5000 cycles before its capacity was reduced to 80% of new capacity.

For straight up battery charging the 831 is ideal for the task. When utility power is available I plan to set the Xantrex to zero out the incoming power for everything except the heatpump. I'm going to put in about 4kw of solar panels. With that setup I expect the solar/battery combo to zero out all the house load except for the AC/Heatpump. The 831 would be the emergency battery charger for rainy days when the utility power was not available.

Edit:

If I go with the Leaf batteries I would need about 42 cells. Each cell if purchased today costs about $120 salvage or roughly $5k for a complete pack. I'm expecting that price to go down over the next couple of years which is the most realistic timeframe for me to complete building the system.

Solar panels right now are about $0.70/watt. For a 4k array with a solar tracker I would spend another $5k. Add around $1.5k for misc wire and connectors.

 

[Korgoth1]

Do you get the tax rebate down there?

 

[DieselAddict]

You do. I've been buying things a piece at a time used so for me the rebate doesn't matter. They don't rebate used or salvaged equipment.